Dateline: Secrets Uncovered: What Was Paralympian Oscar Pistorius Convicted Of?

Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.

“The Rise and Fall of Oscar Pistorius” is an episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered that will be aired on Oxygen on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET. The episode will revolve around the killing of Reeva Steenkamp by the famed South African double-amputee Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius.

Pistorius was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in December 2015. He shot Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet cubicle door in his house on February 14, 2013. Pistorius killed her with a licensed 9 mm pistol, and Steenkamp was hit in her arm, hip, and head. While Pistorius’ defense did not deny the shooting, the reason behind the killing became the center of his murder trial, reported AP News.

The shooting occurred at their villa in Pretoria. The South African police immediately arrested Oscar Pistorius on charges of killing Reeva Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and law graduate. The trial that followed revealed that Pistorius had a history of impulsive outbursts and reckless firing of guns. However, he argued that he shot her accidentally, believing she was an intruder. The prosecution’s theory stated that he killed her during a heated late-night argument between the couple.

In September 2014, the court initially acquitted Oscar Pistorius of the murder charges and convicted him of a lower charge of culpable homicide. He was also found guilty of recklessly firing a gun in a crowded restaurant. This happened only weeks before he shot Reeva Steenkamp. However, in December 2015, the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the prior conviction and found Pistorius guilty of murder, per Reuters.

How many years was Oscar Pistorius sentenced to?

When he was initially found guilty of manslaughter and the reckless firing of a gun in a restaurant, the court sentenced Oscar Pistorius to five years in prison. However, he was released to house arrest only a year later. In December 2015, he was convicted of murder and was asked to serve six years in prison in July 2016.

Then, in November 2017, the court more than doubled his sentence and gave him a jail term of 13 years and five months. This was after hearing the prosecutor’s argument that the initial sentence was “shockingly lenient,” Reuters reported.

On January 5, 2024, the BBC reported that Oscar Pistorius had been released on parole after having served half his sentence. Until his sentence expires in 2029, Pistorius must live under strict parole conditions. That includes avoiding alcohol, restricting himself to his home at certain hours of the day, and avoiding interactions with the media. He is also required to take therapy related to anger management and gender-based violence.

As per BBC, Oscar Pistorius was born with a congenital condition that caused him to not have fibula bones. His legs were amputated from below the knee before he turned a year old. He relied on prosthetics and became one of the most famous athletes in the world. He was widely known as the “Blade Runner.”

On May 16, 2008, Pistorius won a ruling at the sport’s highest court. The ruling allowed him to compete with able-bodied athletes. In 2012, Pistorius qualified for the semi-finals at the London Olympics. According to AP News, he made history as the first double-amputee to run at the Olympics.

The Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode “The Rise and Fall of Oscar Pistorius” will air on Oxygen on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET.

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